The US tech giant said ‘a limited number’ of drone flights had been launched from its base at Symmetry Park, Darlington, Co Durham although it is yet to launch the drone delivery service for customers
Amazon drones have taken to the sky in test flights ahead of its UK airborne delivery service.
The US tech giant said “a limited number of flights” had been launched from the Amazon base at Symmetry Park, Darlington, Co Durham. But it is yet to launch the drone delivery service for customers.
The US giant announced last January that Darlington would be its test centre in the UK. Eligible customers in the town will be able to receive packages weighing less than five pounds (2.3kg) within two hours.
Its most modern drone, the MK30, has sophisticated technology to avoid obstacles and ensure “the safety of people, pets and property”.
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The firm added: “This marks an exciting next step in bringing drone delivery to the UK, and we continue to work closely with Darlington Council and the Civil Aviation Authority throughout this period.”
David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air, said the devices were designed to operate “quietly and efficiently” and that safety was a “top priority”.
An Amazon spokesperson said: “We can confirm we have commenced a limited number of Prime Air drone flights out of our Darlington fulfilment centre in Symmetry Park.
“Deliveries are not yet being made, but the service is expected to officially launch in 2026. This marks an exciting next step in bringing drone delivery to the UK.”
Amazon said the drones were equipped with technology so they could avoid obstacles such as clothes lines or trampolines.
They are typical of the items that might not appear on satellite maps.
“These same cameras continuously monitor the surrounding airspace during flight, determining whether evasive action is needed to avoid other aircraft entering the drone’s flight path,” the firm added. “The perception technology relies on sophisticated machine learning models trained to recognise various objects.”
Those include people, animals, and physical barriers.
But they also recognise other drones or ‘airborne vehicles’.
